From the Bride... We knew from the beginning that we wanted a small destination wedding. We own a customized catering company and work really hard to create events and weddings all over the Chicagoland area- for us, having a wedding here was just another Saturday night at work. We needed to think very outside the box...outside the country!

The start of the planning was pretty painless. I am not much of a “researcher.” I like to make decisions and I don’t spend a whole lot of time dwelling or shopping around. I googled “Cabo wedding planner," clicked on the first result (or maybe it was the name I liked best), gave Baja Weddings a call and it was done and done! Jenny was amazing- she helped us narrow down the best locations for us from a few thousand miles away. We went to Cabo for 3 days on a mission to find out where all of this bliss would happen. Immediately, we both were impressed by Cabo. I had never seen such a landscape in my life- mountains, ocean, desert, cacti, palm trees. Just beautiful scenery. Jenny drove us around ALL DAY- looking at hotels, restaurants, resorts, and nothing was calling our names. Then, she said, “Please just check out this golf club right before I drop you back off.” And there was Cabo Del Sol, calling, screaming, our names. It was absolutely perfect and just what we wanted. Beautiful, open air space with incredible Mexican architecture and decor. It was perched up on a hill overlooking the ocean, but the ceremony would be a little golf cart drive down to the beach. It was perfect!

I truly feel like planning our wedding was so fun. It wasn’t all totally easy and I had a lot of really helpful opinions from my sisters, friends and mom. My wedding planner Jenny seemed to really ‘get’ me and my style. When you have a destination wedding, by nature, you are giving up a lot of control. I really didn’t want to get so crazed over the details, so being far away, you are forced to trust. We had spent months developing a relationship with Jenny and I was so happy to have someone who knew my vision planning my wedding. Until she called me two months before the wedding to let me know she would be leaving Cabo and returning to the states. Dum dum dummmmmmm. She assured me that Roxanne, who would be taking over for her, was great. Great would be an understatement. She was absolutely incredible. Although she serendipitously became part of our wedding, she quite deliberately helped us create the most special day of our lives.

The ceremony was MAGIC. Driving down to the beach with my dad all ready to walk down the aisle was the most emotional moment for me. I knew everyone was down there waiting for me, that Vaido and I were about to see each other and that I was about to WALK DOWN THE AISLE on my wedding day. Unreal. As my dad and I started walking, he squeezed my arm and with a cracked voice said “I love you.” I have heard him say I love you every time we talk, but I have never heard him say it like this. It was such a special moment that I will cherish forever. Our ceremony was perfect. Most of what I remember was staring into my Vaido’s eyes and feeling the warm sun on my face. I kept turning around to everyone and smiling just so they knew I was happy they were all there sitting behind us. Our kiss. The best. Right when we kissed, a surprise mariachi band that snuck up on the hill behind everyone started playing “Son de la Negra,” a traditional Mexican song. It was so fun to walk back down the aisle, everyone throwing rose petals on us, to the live mariachi band and even more fun that no one knew it was coming! It really made it feel like it was time to fiesta.

Our incredibly talented photographer, Kenny Nakai, knew that I felt pretty strongly about not having many formal posed photos taken. Our parents are both divorced and remarried, so making sure all the combinations of family had photos would have taken forever. The great part about having such an amazing photographer is that I didn’t worry for one minute if there would be good photos. He has a vision no one else could imagine and is able to capture moments you could never plan or anticipate.

The reception is so cool- just a big party that you planned for all of your favorite people to enjoy! I love white linens and I’m kind of a less is more when it comes to table decor, so we kept it pretty simple. The dining room at Cabo del Sol is beautiful and I didn’t want to take away from that in any way. The centerpieces were pretty simple too, a beautiful mix of succulents and cymbidium orchids flooded with candles. Our five-course meal was sprinkled with the most lovely toasts and speeches that of course made everyone laugh and cry. We were then invited to the outside bar and dance floor where the band began playing. We had a Cuban cigar table that Roxanne set up and I loved that even my girlfriends were puffing away. The reception was exactly what I had hoped for: lots of laughter, champagne, dancing, sweating, great music, and memories that I will cherish for the rest of my life. Everyone had So. Much. Fun.

I think the key to truly enjoying your destination wedding is to get lost in the moment of it, trust the people that are putting it together fully and don’t worry when things don’t go as planned. Isn’t the whole point of wanting everything perfect so that you can enjoy this day? Let it be magical and it will be magical!